SEATTLE – Time will tell whether Alexander Gustafsson is the next light heavyweight contender, but he nonetheless took a huge step forward in his career.

Using his size and length to shut down ex-champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the 25-year-old Swede picked up a unanimous decision.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 5 event at Seattle’s KeyArena. It aired on FOX following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Gustafsson immediately put his reach to use, catching Rua with a glancing blow before diving in to do damage from top position.

That prompted Rua to dive for a heel hook, and he cranked it with all his might. Gustafsson managed to escape the joint lock, but not Rua’s clutches. He held Gustafsson’s torso tight before diving for another leg lock. This one was picked off by the Swede, and soon they were back on their feet.

Gustafsson quickly asserted himself there, depositing Rua on the mat. But Rua would quickly right himself and do just the same before the two collided with the cage.

Gustafsson’s size advantage was apparent. He kept the aggressive Rua at bay with uppercuts and refused to be muscled in the clinch. With less than a minute to go, he pushed Rua to the cage and worked knees against the fence.

Rua opened the second frame far more aggressive, and for a moment, Gustafsson appeared to break with his game plan to swing for the fences. With his hands at his sides, Rua continued to swing wildly, landing a hard left hand. Gustafsson decided to slow the action down by clinching against the fence, prompting the ref to separate them.

When Rua tried to take the fight to the ground, he was reversed by Gustafsson, though the position didn’t net much for either. Rua landed big shots upon righting himself, but was taken down again.

Rua again battled back from danger, but as he got up, Gustafsson made him pay with knees and punches. The Brazilian’s face began to swell.

The third round saw Rua counter well with right hands at the advancing Gustafsson, but he could not do the kind of damage that slowed his opponent down.

Gustafsson easily put the fight on the mat and scored points, but Rua was soon back on his feet, swinging again. By then, the crowd had started to chant Rua’s name, but an easy takedown from Gustafsson silenced them.

Slowing by the minute, Rua’s technique began to fall apart while Gustafsson’s stayed crisp. Big punches slammed into Rua, aggravating the swelling on his face.

With a minute-and-a-half left, Gustafsson stuffed Rua against the cage, but the two were separated. Bolos from Rua failed to find their mark, and a front kick slapped him in the face.

Gustafsson ended the fight and punctuated his physical dominance by depositing Rua to the mat with a trip.

Judges were unanimous for Gustafsson (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), scoring the bout a shutout at 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26. The fighter has now won his past five fights, while Rua (22-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) has hopscotched between wins and losses since a breakout KO of Chuck Liddell at UFC 97.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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